20 Health Benefits of Turmeric
Many Americans are beginning to search for natural remedies to replace their many medications that may have harmful side effects. Doctors and researchers are studying various natural supplements, herbs and spices that might be able to replace multiple medications, and they are achieving interesting results.
One natural remedy that is known to be the key to tossing out unnecessary medications comes from India. It's called Turmeric, and it is known as a "one-stop-shop" as far as natural medicine goes. Turmeric has been used for over 2,500 years in India, and the health benefits of it have been revealing themselves throughout centuries.
Long known for its anti-inflammatory properties, recent studies show that it can be helpful in the treatment of many different health conditions, from cancer to Alzheimer's disease. Another thing to note, is that studies have found that consuming black pepper with curcumin increases its bioavailability.
Let's take a look at some of the ways that turmeric can be a beneficial aide in your health!
20 Health Benefits of Turmeric
1. Brain Tumors
One of the biggest health benefits of turmeric is in the prevention and treatment of cancer. Research has found that curcumin induces cell death in pediatric brain tumors, while other studies have found that it may even induce cell death in glioblastomas - an aggressive type of brain tumor that is resistant to chemo and radiation.
2. Prostate Cancer
Studies found that turmeric, when combined with cruciferous vegetables, may prevent prostate cancer and stop, or slow the growth of existing prostate cancer.
3. Skin Cancer
Curcumin is known to cause melanoma cells to die off. Topical curcumin shows huge promise in fighting squamous cell carcinoma.
4. Leukemia
Curcumin was found to have an inhibitory effect on WT1 gene expression in childhood leukemia cells. A study on Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) was conducted at the University of Palermo in Italy, where mice who were treated with curcumin, developed smaller tumors than the control group.
5. Multiple Myeloma
A French study that was published in 2014 in the book, Cancer Biology and Therapy, found that several different multiple myeloma cell lines were extremely sensitive to curcumin. The authors of the study concluded that the results encourage more clinical trials on curcumin and multiple myeloma.
6. Prevention of Metastasis
Multiple studies have found that one of the most exciting and important health benefits of turmeric is the metastasis prevention. Metastasis is the spread of cancer from the primary site to other areas of the body.
7. Cachexia Prevention
Cachexia is one of the many hurdles that cancer patients who have solid tumors, face. It causes weight loss and muscle wasting, even when large amounts of food are digested. A study showed that patients who had colorectal cancer were given oral curcumin while they waited to undergo surgery. Those who took the oral curcumin experienced weight gain. The same Chinese study found that curcumin induced cancer cell death in patients with colorectal cancer.
8. Chemotherapy Enhancer
UCLA Researchers found that curcumin enhances the effects of cisplatin, which is a type of chemotherapy used in treating many different cancers. Cisplatin and curcumin combined worked better at suppressing tumors than just the chemo alone. In addition, a study that was published in the Nutrition and Cancer journal, found that curcumin not only makes cancer cells more susceptible to chemo, but it also protects the healthy cells from the toxicity of chemo.
9. Alzheimer's Prevention
Another exciting health benefit of turmeric is the slow progression of Alzheimer's Disease. A study in India found that curcumin may prevent or slow the progression of Alzheimer's by removing amyloid plaque buildup in the brain.
10. Eye Health
A study conducted at the UC San Diego found that curcumin may be able to treat some types of degenerative eye diseases that lead to blindness, as well as aid in the treatment of macular degeneration.
11. Weight Loss
Curcumin may be a powerful tool in obesity and related weight problems. Curcumin reduces leptin resistance, lowers insulin resistance, reverses hyperglycemia, reduces inflammation, and activates fat burning gene signals.
12. Natural Pain Reliever & Anti-Inflammatory
Curcumin is a natural pain reliever and cox-2 inhibitor. A study compared curcumin to ibuprofen for pain relief in osteoarthritis patients, and found that the curcumin worked just as well or better than ibuprofen. Several studies have found that curcumin has powerful anti-inflammatory properties. Also, according to the Arthritis Foundation, several studies have found turmeric to be effective at reducing joint inflammation and pain, especially in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
13. Liver Health
One of the various health benefits of turmeric is that it is a natural liver detoxifier. One study found that it may even protect against alcohol-induced liver damage, as well as damage caused by a high fat diet.
14. Parkinson's Disease
Curcumin crosses the blood brain barrier and is known as a neuroprotective agent. Several studies have found that curcumin may be beneficial in the treatment of Parkinson's Disease by preventing clumping of the brain protein that leads to the disease.
15. Multiple Sclerosis
Curcumin has shown promise in slowing the progression of MS. A study that was conducted at Vanderbilt University showed that curcumin prevented the onset of an autoimmune disease in mice that is quite similar to MS in humans.
16. Psoriasis Relief
Oral curcumin has been shown to be effective against psoriasis. The National Psoriasis Foundation recommends turmeric as a natural remedy for psoriasis.
17. Depression
An Indian study found that curcumin may be an effective treatment for people with major depression. The study compared people who were taking Prozac, curcumin, or Prozac and Curcumin together. The group who took Prozac and Curcumin together had the best results, while those taking just one had very similar results - indicating that curcumin may work just as well as Prozac.
18. Helicobacter Pylori
Curcumin has been found to stop the growth of H. Pylori, which is a bacterium that is found in the stomach and other parts of the body. If left untreated, it can lead to stomach ulcers and stomach cancers.
19. Better Sleep
Curcumin protects against the effects of insomnia and sleep deprivation. A study found that it also prevented anxiety, oxidative damage, and other impairment.
20. Antibacterial
Several studies have found that curcumin has antibacterial properties and is useful in disinfecting cuts and burns.